Why Your College Student / Adult Child Needs a Power of Attorney

Let’s say you have a college student or a young adult over 18 who is unmarried. They are no longer minors that you have the legal authority to make decisions for. The law now classifies them as adults with the legal right to privacy. If they have not prepared a Power of Attorney (“POA”), certain problems could now arise.

Some scenarios where a POA is necessary include:

Student who is out of the state/country attending college

Son or daughter out of the country doing foreign missionary service, rendering humanitarian assistance or Peace Corps.

Traveling or vacationing overseas

The POA would come in handy for:

Driver’s license or vehicle registration renewals

Registration/admission for college

Tax return filing

Banking transactions

Ongoing legal matters (e.g., pending lawsuit from that fender-bender a few months back or speaking with child’s landlord)

Jury duty summons

Passport renewal

Preparing for your child’s move away to college can be an anxious time with many things to do and it’s easy to overlook the simple things such as a POA. Many estate planners urge clients to prod their adult children to draft POA on or around their 18th birthdays. So don’t forget a POA – make it one of the most important things on your to-do list.

To assist with this important task, SECURITY LEGAL SERVICES will prepare a POWER OF ATTORNEY for adult children for a reduced flat fee of $100. For your convenience, you can order a POA directly from our site. An attorney will then contact you for the details.

Thank you for allowing SECURITY LEGAL SERVICES take care of this important family matter for you.

Author: Mark Klein

Mark Klein has carefully created hundreds of living trust-based estate plans to carry out the recommendations he custom tailors to the specific needs of his clients. He also assists in the following related estate planning matters: Durable Powers of Attorney, Advance Healthcare Directives, Guardianships and Living Wills.